The antlered leafalope in the foreground is a male. The female (upper left) is smaller and has less intense coloring.

Not many people realize that leafalopes are ground dwellers only during their migration. In spring and summer, they’re arboreal. Like goldfinches, their color changes in autumn; during their arboreal phase, it ranges from light green through a deep purplish red.

They left our neighborhood a few hours after I took the photo so the leafalopes are on the move. I’m not surprised it takes them two months to get to Texas, Catherine, migrating against the west wind as they must.